Forest City Teen Accused Of Theft, Damaging House

OTHER TOP STORIES - SEMINOLE

October 6, 1999

FOREST CITY - A 15-year-old Lake Brantley High School student was arrested on an array of charges Tuesday after he admitted his role in causing an estimated $50,000 in damage to a house in his neighborhood, police said.

Shawn Michael Meek, 1277 W. Forest Lake Drive, was charged with burglarizing a house, a shed and two cars, and using a BB gun to shoot into a dwelling. Charges also include four counts of felony criminal mischief and two counts of grand theft, said Seminole County sheriff's spokesman Steve Olson. As many as three other teenagers could face charges, he said.

No one had lived in the home at 148 S. Forest Lake Drive since 1992 when the previous owner died, Olson said. Owner John Felts and his brother, Marshall, both of Ooltewah, Tenn., check on the house from time to time, Olson said.

The vandalism was discovered late Tuesday afternoon when Marshall Felts showed up to check on the house. Following a footpath, deputies arrived at Meek's home and found articles from the vandalized house leaning against a fence there, Olson said.